The OffiSync plug-in, which marries Google Apps, Docs and Google search engine functionality with Microsoft Office documents, is coming to enterprise users. For $10 per user, per year, businesses will be able to bring Office documents into the cloud, saving them for collaboration in Google Apps. The tool comes as vendors grapple with exposing more on-premise users to cloud computing.
Google may be generating interest from customers that want to access their Google Apps data through the more familiar Microsoft Outlook interface, but it isn't the only vendor providing plug-ins to help users marry the benefits of cloud computing with their Microsoft Office data.
Enter OffiSync, a plug-in for Microsoft Office that lets users leverage Google Apps, Google Docs and Google search functionality from within any Office app, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents. The tool comes as software makers, led by Google, Microsoft, Cisco and Zoho, are trying to expose more users to document creation and sharing in the cloud, or through the Internet.
Once installed, the plug-in appears as a new toolbar in Microsoft Office apps and allows users to save their Office files online for access from any desktop or laptop computer using Google Apps and Docs; find specific files with Google search; and collaborate on documents with coworkers through Google Docs.
The tool has been in beta for consumers to download since May. Later this month businesses will be able to purchase a beta version of OffiSync for $10 per user per year, said Oudi Antebi, an entrepreneur who created OffiSync with the help of some programmers.
The enterprise version, which will be sold exclusively through unnamed channel partners, will leverage the global address book in Google Apps, enabling business workers to more easily connect with colleagues.
Antebi, a former product manager for Microsoft Office, said the idea for OffiSync came from watching users create and edit documents in Microsoft Office, upload them for collaboration in Google Docs, and bring files back into Office to save them on the desktop. This process was so complex that he decided to fix it.
Antebi, a former product manager for Microsoft Office, said the idea for OffiSync came from watching users create and edit documents in Microsoft Office, upload them for collaboration in Google Docs, and bring files back into Office to save them on the desktop. This process was so complex that he decided to fix it.
Hence, OffiSync was born. The tool lets users create an Office Word, PowerPoint or Excel document, save the file online through their Google Apps accounts or save it directly to their desktop. Once that's done, users can access and edit this document, choosing to save changes online and/or in the desktop version.
To retrieve saved documents users can use the search feature within OffiSync to find specific files. OffiSync also lets users save and find associated images from Google Search.
Users can add collaborators by entering their e-mail addresses and assign them user permissions. Multiple users can also work on the document at the same time, and view each other's edits in real time. Eventually, OffiSync will integrate with Google Maps and Google App Engine.
Google Enterprise Product Management Director Matt Glotzbach praised the product: "I think it’s a great set of functionality and helps a business or enterprise bridge that experience gap between users that want to work in native Office apps and those users who want to work in the cloud."
Despite this functionality, is OffiSync ready for the enterprise? IDC analyst Melissa Webster told eWEEK:
I'm not so convinced there's much enterprise uptake of Google Docs, so I'm skeptical there's a waiting market for this plug-in among enterprise customers. I also think it will become increasingly difficult for small vendors to play a real role here as Microsoft rolls out its next version of Office, SharePoint, etc. Providing a seamless desktop/SaaS experience is very much Microsoft's stated vision, we can expect them to innovate in this area.
Forrester Research analyst Rob Koplowitz, who prefers to use Microsoft Office for document creation and Google Docs for document collaboration, had a different take on the usefulness of OffiSync.
"The general value proposition makes sense, but isn’t it ultimately better served by an off-line version of Google Docs, or Office Live WorkSpace with Office so the user can have the off-line/on-line experience with a single product? I love Google Docs and Office, but rarely move docs between the two because of the loss of formatting fidelity," Koplowitz said.
To catch on in the enterprise, OffiSync will need to circumvent these barriers going forward, boosting the plug-in's usefulness for consumers and businesses.
